U.S. secretary of state, was one of the only doves and committed multilateralists among top Bush officials during the pre-war period. However, in January 2003, he joined the hawkish faction of the Bush administration, and argued for a preemptive attack on Iraq. As the post-war violence surged and the projected cost of the occupation of Iraq increased, Powell resumed his multilateralist stance, trying—with limited success—to win support at the UN for broader international aid in Iraq.